The Hotel Eden: Stories

by Ron Carlson

Book Overview

A dozen stories feature a young man who discovers that Eden is not a permanent residence, a baseball player who accidentally becomes a killer, and a teenager from Phoenix who experiences an unsettling sexual awakening.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393040682
• ISBN13: 9780393040685
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 8.5" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

A Collection of stories that will entertain and move you

I found myself very entertained by Carlson's collection of stories, Hotel Eden. A lot of people insisted that I check out his work, and I'm so glad I did. What I found in Hotel Eden was a collection of stories with characters from every walk of life. They were so different, yet so real that I found it hard to believe they lived only on the page and in my mind.Any reader of Hotel Eden will appreciate Carlson's tight and poetic writing that has the ability to snatch you into - at times - bizarre storylines, like the story Zanduce at Second, about a baseball player who has killed 11 spectators with his stinging foul shot and finds an almost blood thirsty thrill in regaining his former playing prowess.In a collection, I would expect to find a few great stories, but in Hotel Eden, I found 12 wonderful stories filled with intriguing characters, fascinating plotlines and a mixture of humor and reality (a sometime sobering thing).I would definitely recommend Hotel Eden to those interested in reading great literature that is ENTERTAINING.

Count Carlson among the top short story writers working toda

A story should either make you laugh or cry. Ron Carlson's stories do both. I don't know how else to describe his stories other than comparison -- he's as poignant as Andre Dubus, as funny as Lee K. Abbott and John Dufresne, as insightful as Charles Baxter and Lynne Barrett, and has an eye for detail like William Trevor or Alice Munro. Though he's not a minimalist, Carlson doesn't waste a word to sentimentality or a scene to gratuitous fluff. His stories are chiseled out of granite. A great collection.

Highly recommended collection of short stories

Ron Carlson's latest collection of short stories addresses the question: What it is to be human? His stories are extraordinary, at the same time, keeping that ever so important human element that makes them accessible & enjoyable to all readers. Each story was a joy to read -making me want to continue to the next. Difficult book to put down. To be read & reread & reread. His stories are a great teacher of life. Each unique story resonates with emotion, adventure, and insight into the human experience. You won't be disappointed!

Very Entertaining! Great job!

When I first ordered this book and realized it was a book of short stories, I was disappointed ...until I opened up the cover and began to read. I then started a relationship with each character in each story, found them very interesting and wanting to know more about them. Each story hypnotized me. "Oxygen" engulfed me, a totally coming out story so deep it's awesome! "Keith" was interesting, "The Prisoner of Bluestone" also a deep story about family and getting to know each other. "Down the Green River" made me cry and appreciate what I have after being divorced and starting over. Please, don't hestitate reading this! You won't be disappointed. Great job, Ron Carlson!

Hotel Eden is an exceptional read.

I usually do not read short stories--never found anything to approach the experience of reading someone like Katherine Anne Porter. However, Ron Carlson has produced his own quirky "magic" with some of his stories in The Hotel Eden. Carlson looks at us and then writes stories about our behavior. So what? Most writers can do this OK. The difference for Carlson's stories may lie in his grace of how carefully he looks at us and reads between the lines of our everyday behavior. What we may get from his stories is something more funny or more sad than we ever knew. Good--honest writing with little artifice or fill.